Newlywed Suite for One
by xxxLittleEnviousBlackRosexxx
Summary: AU Awakening. Gaius/Cordelia/Chrom. Cordelia is stranded at a tropical island resort for her honeymoon without her husband, who left on a different plane...with a different woman. Enter Gaius, the charming nobody gambling addict who also has trouble in paradise.
1. Chapter 1: Day 1, Arrival

**Newlywed Suite for One**

Pairing: Gaius/Cordelia/Chrom

Prompt: "Resort"

Sum: Awakening AU. Cordelia is stranded at a tropical island resort for her honeymoon without her husband, who left on a different plane…with a different woman. Enter Gauis, the charming nobody gambling addict who also has trouble to deal with in paradise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.

* * *

Chapter One: Day 1, Arrival

Cordelia impatiently tapped the heel of her wedge on the lobby's tiled floor. It was stuffy and crowded in the lobby; tourists and hotel staff scuffled around, bumping shoulders. And the noise. Oh god, the noise. In truth, she never wanted to go to Hawaii. She was the type of woman whose definition of a romantic time was sitting on the couch with a Nicholas Sparks novel or crossword puzzle and snuggling with —

_Ding_

"Miss? The suite should be ready about now."

She took her room key and thanked the handsome, young man at the reception desk. A pretty, violet-eyed woman poked her head out of the back door of the main desk area. "Oooh," she squealed. "You're another one of those newlyweds, am I right? I want to have my honeymoon somewhere like this place too! How romantic!" The man, with the name _Matthew _printed on his ID tag, shook his head at her dreamy sighs. "Ignore Serra," he said. "She's new. A college student working here for the summer. She's having a hard time abiding to the rule of not butting in clients' businesses." Cordelia nodded. "It's really alright…" Matthew motioned the girl to shoo with his hand, which she scoffed at but obeyed. "Anyway, what about the other key? And do you need help with your luggage? It's busy today, but I'll send for someone if I can." Cordelia bit her lip. She didn't want to explain her predicament to anyone. It was just embarrassing. She wet her lips and said, "No, it's fine. I think I can manage on my own."

—

Some time later, Cordelia regretted declining help to avoid talking to the receptionist longer. She cursed her stubborn pride. _Maybe I should've let myself burst out in tears and sob about how my husband left me_, She thought bitterly. Chrom. He was still a sore subject even in her own mind.

It happened twelve hours ago. Twelve hours ago, she was in utterly blissful. She was standing in line for the gate to their flight twisting her wedding band. She adored the oval cut diamond. She adored the tiny rubies circling on each side of it. Then she realized the man who had given her the precious jewels had been in the bathroom for two hours. Then she turned around to see him walking in the opposite direction, arm around her maid of honor, Sumia. She dropped her handbag in horror as they continued to walking towards another gate. She opened her mouth to scream his name but only air came out. She did not feel anger, or jealousy. Not even sadness. She wanted to get away, to simply run. She picked up her purse and her legs propelled her onto the plane knowing that he would not join her.

And now, now she found herself struggling to haul her suitcase in the elevator. Cordelia was now not only embarrassed, but sweaty and fatigued. She tucked some strands of her long scarlet hair that were creeping behind her ear.

"Need help with that?"

She was pulled from her reflections and looked up. The voice belonged to a man who looked around her own age. He had shocking orange hair and an equally shocking amount of confections lining his pockets. His speech was slightly muffled due to a lollipop he was sucking on. Despite the bulge of the candy on the side of his mouth, he had a confident smile.

"Yeah," she panted. "It would be a real help."

"Where did your man go? He ought to carry those bags if he's your husband."

_Please don't say it. Please don't say it. No matter how much you want a shoulder to cry on, don't._

"He abandoned me here."

_Damnit!_


	2. Chapter 2: Day 1, Encounter

Chapter 2: Day 1, Encounter

Gaius shoved another lollipop in his mouth. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was terrified. As a man in his twenties (and good-looking one at that), he should have a prosperous, bright future ahead of him. He had enough time and energy to forge a whole damn empire for himself, not like those old farts stuck sitting in their tiny cubicles day after day. Like his own old man. His father used to be on the top, practically second to the CEO, but after the divorce he simply stopped working. He consequently got demoted to the grunt positions.

It seemed, unfortunately, that he was headed down a similar road. He had vowed his freshmen year of college that he would never go that way in life. He worked hard to get his business degree, ignoring his mother's weekly words of encouragement: "You'll never succeed. You're just like him, you know. You're his son. You're more like him than you've ever taken after me. You'll be a failure, just like him." But after graduating he started playing poker. And then he lost money. Lots of it. He started borrowing money from a certain someone and now it was biting him in the ass. To put it simply, he was drowning in debt.

This very week was the day it was all due. "Shit," he spat. "Need a cigarette."

"Gauis, is that really you? You look awful. C'mere, buddy. You need a hug."

He knew that voice. It was Matthew, another friend from the good ol' days. If he was here, so was —

Matthew wrapped his arms around him. "She's really, really pissed, man. Seven days. You know what happens if you don't pay up then," he whispered.

Gaius felt his his insides drop. He was too distracted by focusing on not choking to notice the other man pat him on the shoulder and walking away. _Maybe…maybe I should call her_.

His eyes took a sweep around the lobby. _Eyes everywhere. This ought to be private_.

He walked to the elevator door, bumping into someone. It was a woman. But not just any woman. She was the finest, sexiest woman he had ever seen. Impressive curves, he noted upon seeing her crouching down, butt sticking out towards him.

"Need help with that?"

She looked up at him with a mixture of desperation, guilt, regret, and sweat on her face. Red hair as flaming as her body clung to her cheeks. To her flawless, smooth-looking sweat.

But that wasn't all focused on though. She had an expensive diamond ring on her left hand, which was grasping on two honeymoon suite keys. But there wasn't any husband around.

"Where did your man go?" He asked. "He ought to carry those bags if he's your husband."

Her face turned pale, then red. _Jesus, you would think she was going to explode right here and now_. After an awkward moment of silence, she blurted out,"He abandoned me here." Then Gaius got an awful idea. He almost regretted it the moment he thought of it. Almost.

_She may be my ticket out of hell. What can I say? I'm desperate_.

* * *

And Chapter 2 is done! Eh, it's a little short (Sorry about that) but I think it drives the story in the direction I want it to.


	3. Chapter 3: Taken by a Stranger

_Hello, viewers! I want to thank you all for the feedback! Please continue, so I know what I need to improve on. I hope you like this chapter. I've been told I write my stories too short, so I tried to make this one longer. Please, tell me what you think._

Chapter 3: End of Day 1, Taken by a Stranger

"Abandoned?" He echoed, "What do you mean, 'abandoned'"?

Cordelia muttered, "Never mind, I don't want to bore you…," and turned her head away. He had to admit his curiosity was piqued. He heard about countless gossip and scandals from his ex-girlfriend when they were still dating, but never a story like this. Who would leave their wife right after the wedding? He squatted next to her. "No, tell me."

Before she could open her mouth, she was tapped on the shoulder. It was Serra. "Um, sorry to break up you love birds," she started, tapping her pen against her clipboard. "You guys are kinda blocking the elevator from the other guests." She jabbed a thumb backwards to indicate a line of irritated-looking people. Cordelia scrambled to her feet. Gaius wordlessly picked up her suitcase with one hand and slung her bag around his shoulder with the other, following her.

"Sorry for all the trouble, err…"

"My name is Gaius. What's yours?"

"Cordelia."

"What a pretty name." He smiled at her, shifting his lollipop to the other side of his mouth. She looked uncomfortable. _Shit_, _I'm getting rusty with this flirting thing_. "So, which floor miss Cordelia?"

"Mrs," she corrected. "And the top floor."

He whistled while pressing the matching button. "Expensive place." The doors closed. She was not a naive schoolgirl anymore; she knew what men like him were after - her body or her money. Maybe both. He was the type of the man her mother warned her about. But his eyes when he told her that he wanted to hear her story were so honest and genuine. _No! I can't be fooled by another man again!_

"Now this husband of yours." His tone was cautious, almost methodical. "Tell me about him."

"There's so much to tell," she sighed. "I'm afraid it would take too long to tell you all of it. And I'm short on time. I've got to unpack."

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"I've got plans all day."

"For one?" He teased. Her eyebrows furrowed at the comment. He felt a little sorry for her. "Look, I'll…I'll join you. If you want." Now he felt silly. There was no way she was going to accept. _Great, now I look like a total creep_.

On one hand, he was a complete stranger. Cordelia knew nothing about him. He could be a murderer or a rapist for all she knew. Men were dangerous, that was for sure. But on the other hand, he was so nice to her. He seemed so kind and he cared about her. He even offered to help her with her bags. But he was a stranger. But he was a _nice _stranger. And sort of handsome.

_What am I thinking?! I've just met him! …Oh well, I'm desperate._

"Meet me for breakfast at the Coconut grille. It's not far from the hotel. It's to the left of the entrance. Eight o'clock. We'll talk then."

"You got it."

—

A few miles away from the resort, another red-haired woman stood in an elevator with a man. She broke the lingering silence with a sharp question. "Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes ma'am," the man said. "He's at the designated location as planned."

"Excellent. And I've told you a million times, call me Anna."

"My apologies, ma'am." He mock saluted the her, earning him an elbow in the ribs. She stared at him with a hard expression. "You look guilty," she remarked. "Are you withholding vital information from me?"

"I don't think it's very important, but if you insist. It seems he's hatching some sort of plan to weed money out of this woman he met. I don't think it will work though."

She laughed. "What an idiot. It was wise of me to kick his useless ass to the curb where it belongs. To think I ever dated a fake like him."

"I agree," he grinned. "It made you available for me." He pinned her to the corner and kissed her neck. She smiled back at him. "When do you have to get back to work?"

_Ding_. The doors opened.

"I have to go now, actually. My break is over soon." He released her. "Bye, love you."

"I love you too, Matthew."

—

The rest of the elevator ride and the walk to her suite was silent. Gaius quietly placed her luggage on the bed and left. After he shut the door behind him, she collapsed on her bed.

_Ring, ring_.

It was her phone. She checked the caller ID. It wasn't Sumia asking for forgiveness or Chrom asking for a second chance. It was her mother. _How the hell am I going to explain this to her?_

Reluctantly, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Cordelia! How was the plane ride, sweetheart? I hope Chrom didn't throw up. You know how easily he gets motion sickness, poor dear. Oh, I'm so excited for you two! Have you unpacked yet? I bet you're going to have the best time!"

"Mother, I…"

"What have you planned for tomorrow? How about a nice helicopter of the volcanoes after breakfast? Your father's old friend from college works for a company that does that. He still has his number. He could call him and maybe you'll get a discount!"

"Mother."

"Yes, honey?"

"Nothing. Thank you, I'll text dad tomorrow to see if it works out. I, I mean, we are very tired right now from our flight. We're going to take a nap. Goodbye, mother. I love you."

"I love you too. Send me some pictures, okay?"

"Okay."

_Beep_. Cordelia slammed her iPhone on the side table and carelessly tossed her bags onto the floor, not bothering to unpack anything. She crawled under the covers of the bed and fell asleep without knowing it.

* * *

_Now that Anna is in the picture, shit is about to go down. I'm excited to write more!_


End file.
